I recorded a mini oral history with my mother in law about silver linings during the pandemic. The photograph is a family Zoom, as this is a positive of the pandemic year to her.

I recorded a mini oral history with my mom's old friend about the positive aspects she experienced during the pandemic

I recorded a mini oral history with my mom's old friend about the positive aspects she experienced during the pandemic

I recorded a mini oral history with my mom about silver linings.

This is an interview with Jo Ann Richey about her COVID-19 vaccination experience in January of 2021. She talks about how pandemic restrictions have affected her work and social life. She also speaks about where and how her vaccine was conducted. She includes personal insight into how she hopes the vaccines may change her life and society as whole in the future. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, HSE, for Arizona State University for the #RuralVoices and #VaccineStories collections

A self-account of the exploding market of hand sanitizer and the smell thereof

The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent.

IMPORTANT NOTE: My professor, Dr. Blake Jones, approved of the anonymity of my interview subject. My subject is highly private and wishes to maintain that anonymity for business and personal reasons. Max is a businessman from the United States. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and holds an M.B.A. He has been conducting business in the electronics industry for over 40 years. He has a wife, adult children, and dogs. Max has been heavily involved in Asian markets in his business for multiple decades. He was a vital part of the explosion of Japanese electronics onto the American market in the 1980's, the rapid introduction of the Internet in the 1990's, and has most recently been working to implement the next generation of lighting displays for consumer electronics. Max’s life and work has been one that has been vital to the development of the world’s technological progress in the past 40 years, although he is not a household name. Max has lived through multiple important events and has a unique perspective on all of them as a businessman, agent of free enterprise, and average American providing for his family. He holds several unique opinions on current events and is not afraid to state them plainly. In this interview, he reflects on the difficulties and silver linings that COVID-19 has thrown at him in his work and personal life.

Tiffany Asher is a wife, mother, and she suffers from a terminal illness called cystic fibrosis. She chooses to care for elderly people suffering from COVID-19 against the wishes of her healthcare providers.

This oral history is a retelling of what it was like to attend college, graduate from college, and then hunt and find a job during the Covid-19 global pandemic.

James W. Morrell has worked with Wal-Mart for over 20 years. In this interview he describes his experience working for Wal-Mart before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is an interview with Clay Carpenter. Clay Carpenter was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota and grew up multiple small North Dakota towns. He studied Elementary Education and Physical Education at the University of North Dakota, where he met Melody Carpenter, his wife. They moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they work in the education system. They had a son, Dakota Carpenter, and moved to Arizona shortly after. In Arizona they continued to work as educators with Clay teaching in elementary school, middle school, and high school before becoming a high school administrator,. While working in Arizona they adopted two sons, Artem Carpenter and Andrey Carpenter. Clay’s long experience in the field of education as both a teacher and an administrator provides him with a wealth of knowledge, experiences, and a view of the changes made in the education system. In this interview, he reflects on the coronavirus and the affect it has had on the education system, students, and teachers.

Scott Campbell was born in Panama to military parents. He and his family moved to Colorado when he was young, living close to his father's family, where his interest in a sort of do-it-yourself lifestyle was awakened. After high school, he moved to central Alabama, working several retail jobs before landing his job at FIS Financial Solutions. After buying his own property, he began gardening and doing a bit of homesteading on his own in Alabama. Scott now spends his days editing financial programs and his down time taking care of various projects and plants around his home.

The Oral History interview is with CJ Willingham and she describes her experiences and views during the pandemic year. CJ gives her encounters during the initial pandemic and how the pandemic is affecting her now. She explains her perspective on more than the pandemic. CJ shares her knowledge on protests, police brutality and police reform.

Dana Adkins is a Mother that works at a summertime resort. She discusses how the pandemic impacted her job. Also discussed is how her children handled the changes to their routines.

David John McKenney lived in rural Michigan for most of his life. In this interview, David reflects upon the challenges that COVID-19 wrought on the rural school districts for which he works. He describes how he and his coworkers wrote code that helped transition students to remote learning and saved other districts countless hours of labor. David also touches upon his experience in Ukraine and the flu quarantine that occurred there seasonally. He contrasts this with the current American quarantine and highlights his concerns about freedoms of speech in reference to lockdowns. His concerns about freedoms of speech also extends to the future of Christianity and the church. He expresses his anger about the 2020 election season. In addition, David discusses his frustration with rioting in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. David remarks on the shift in real estate from urban areas to suburban areas and the rise in construction. Finally, David comments on his participation in pandemic trends (such as baking bread) and increased time spent with family.

[KW] is a New Zealand immigrant currently living in Apple Valley, Minnesota with her husband and their three children, ages eight, six, and three. [KW] shares her experiences with COVID 19 from an immigrant’s point-of-view as well as a mother’s point-of-view. [KW] reflects upon the difference between the handling of the pandemic in New Zealand and the handling of the pandemic in America. Additionally, [KW] discusses how the pandemic has affected her children, their schooling, and her own role in their lives. She breaks down their routines before the pandemic and compares it to their routines now. She talks about how the pandemic has changed her daily life and the daily lives of children, especially her two school aged sons and their activities in and out of school. Finally, she reflects upon how different her families’ lives would be if they were still living in New Zealand instead of Minnesota.

The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent.

The interviewee discusses her life and daily activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. She addresses her role as an essential employee while caring for her family.

Graduate student at ASU, Angelica S Ramos interviews mother of a new born baby. In this interview she discussed the struggles with prenatal care and her experience with birth during COVID. Fisher also discusses family support as a new mother amidst the pandemic and how her interactions with her family has changed. She mentions her worries with being high risk for contraction and how she copes with her worries. She also talks about her work as a teacher and how much that environment has changed for her and her students. In this interview, Fisher also talks about her close relationship with her grandmother who lived in assisted living and how their relationship has been forced to change. Lastly, she talks about her hopes for the future.

Suzan Keebler is a Field Training Officer with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Custody Division. Today, she speaks about her job, the global pandemic and how her job has been affected by the issues facing society today. In the course of the interview, she discusses how the pandemic has changed the day to day operations of her job and how communication with all the conflicting sides can help to bring resolution and closure to many of these issues.

This oral history was conducted for the HST580 Archive course through Arizona State University. The interviewee discusses her life and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The oral history explores the COVID-19 virus and its relation to themes such as, lived experiences, family life, employment, the economy, government, and community.

This interview was conducted as a part of a COVID-19 archive project. In it she discusses her day to day life, how her life has changed since COVID hit the US, and how her home is coping with those changes. She discusses the effects that COVID has had on her family and community and how it has affected her son who has OCD. Lastly, she discusses her hopes for the future.

Angelica Ramos is a full time mother and student living in Gilbert, Arizona. She is studying history at Arizona State University. She is an Arizona transplant, having moved from her hometown of Los Angeles, California when she was 23 years old. She keeps busy caring for her two small children; balancing school and activities for her children, her own schoolwork and managing her household, all in the time of COVID-19. In this interview, she discusses her thoughts, challenges and feelings on the pandemic year, and what she hopes is on the horizon for next year.

Daniela gives us an inside look at what it was like to be a high school senior during COVID-19. She also talks about what it was like living in California during the pandemic. Daniela takes us through her experiences with graduation, prom, friends, and just generally what her life has been like living through the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Kelsey McIntyre lives in Walnut Creek, California. She discusses how the pandemic caused her to lose both of her jobs but says she is grateful that her state and local government responded the way that they did, or things could be much worse. Kelsey feels that she has grown closer with her family who are in various places across the United States, and that the increasing prevalence of technology such as Zoom makes it possible to communicate with them. Kelsey talks about the impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ+ community by the cancellation of Pride Month events and the LGBTQ+ community being at increased risk for exposure by those who are most vulnerable. Kelsey talks about how her partner works in news and she relies on them to get updates about what is happening, as well as checking the news on her iPhone She also talks about how she has learned to establish boundaries with her partner and that being together frequently can be both good and bad. Kelsey believes that masks will be mandated indoors a year from now, at least where she lives, and is optimistic that people in the LGBTQ+ community are actively participating in preventative measures.

Kyle Ballard is active duty military in North Augusta, South Carolina. Kyle identifies as a gay man and uses the pronouns he and him. He has witnessed firsthand the federal government response to the pandemic as he works on a military base and was given a restriction of movement order after falling ill in March. Despite his illness, he was unable to get a Covid-19 test due to testing restriction at the time. He spends most of his time working at the military base and developing student government for Arizona State University’s online campus. Kyle discusses the potential issues faced particularly by LGBTQ+ youth in the middle of the pandemic and his disappointment in the government response across all levels. He lives with his boyfriend Mason and recounts how it was difficult to not see him as much after the quarantine had ended. Kyle wishes the media would focus more on what other countries have done to successfully limit the spread of Covid-19.

Claire Cunliffe, a high school mathematics teacher from Baltimore, Maryland, compares the early implementation of distance learning procedures among public and private school districts. While Claire reflects on the positive response to distance learning among students at private schools, including the increased ability for students to self-pace, she expresses concern over the lack of funding and limited resources available for students attending public schools. Claire makes the argument that technological unavailability among minority populations is exacerbating the opportunity gap among urban students. Reflecting on the conflicting responses of city and state leaders, including Governor Larry Hogan, Claire offers suggestions for reopening schools that ultimately place the decision in the hands of parents and healthcare professionals, instead of politicians. Claire conveys optimism that distance learning practices during the COVID-19 pandemic will permanently reshape the educational sector by encouraging interactive approaches to teaching, promoting community building among students, and displaying the benefits of incorporating digital elements into the classroom curriculum.

Olivia Pecora was born in Santa Monica, California, and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, when she was eight. She graduated from Rowland Hall in Salt Lake City in 2014. After high school she attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania. While at Villanova, Olivia was active in her sorority, spent a semester studying abroad, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 2018. Upon graduation, Olivia became a member of Teach For America, where she began working towards her teaching license. This journey placed her in Nampa, Idaho, and she became a teacher at Lone Star Middle School in 2018. She is a special education teacher with a focus on English Language Arts. In her job, she co-teaches classes, holds a resource class that is specific to her special education population, and manages the individual education plans (IEPs) of roughly 25 students. In her free time, Olivia loves to enjoy the outdoors, spend time with her friends and family, and explore the Boise, Idaho area. Throughout this interview, Olivia examines the impact of COVID-19 on the school system, her own life, and how she believes things will change going forward.

Carrie Brown is currently a flight nurse employed with Mercy One- North Iowa in Mason City, Iowa. Carrie has worked a Mercy One- North Iowa since getting her degree in nursing (then called Mercy Medical Center- North Iowa) and has worked as a flight nurse since 2012. Carrie’s day to day life is currently outside the normal as she is living with her husband, Don, and their dog in a camper for the summer while they build a new house. In this interview, Carrie reflects on her interactions with friends and family and how her routines at her job have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Carrie offers a unique insight as to the current state of the pandemic by providing firsthand knowledge and perspective as a medical care provider. Carrie also addresses her personal stance on the pandemic as seen through the eyes of a medical professional and through conversations with other medical professionals.

William “Billy” Cummings, an employee of the food service company, Choicelunch shares his experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. He describes the suddenness of the pandemic. Billy explains the impact COVID-19 had on his job and on the jobs of his co-workers. He discusses how the company he works for pivoted their business model to stay open. Billy expands upon the impact COVID-19 has had on the food service industry and food services workers. He details his initial reaction to COVID-19 and describes the pressures families are experiencing at home. And reflects upon how this experience may impact the types of jobs people have in the future. Billy calls upon the greater community to come together to ease the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and families.

Shanna Gagnon conducts an interview with Anonymous. Anonymous is a 5 year old boy that lives in Northern California. He explains his initial reaction to COVID-19. Anonymous discusses how the pandemic has impacted his daily life, including who he can and cannot play with. He describes what people are acting like in his neighborhood. Anonymous details a recent family trip to the beach. He shares what he believes worries people most. And talks about why it is important for his family to stay extra safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anonymous imagines what life will be like a year from today and includes a possible new reality for what playground time will look like when he returns to school. His responses also cover how businesses are responding to COVID and his family’s consumer behaviors during the pandemic.

Shanna Gagnon interviews an anonymous 8 year old girl about the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains her initial reaction to learning about COVID-19. Anonymous describes how the pandemic has impacted her daily life. She discusses how her family and friends are responding to COVID-19. She talks of the things that are important to and worrying people right now. Anonymous details the most difficult parts of the pandemic for her. She shares how COVID-19 is impacting local businesses and schools. She also discusses how she thinks life will be different moving forward and includes her thoughts on vacations and milestone celebrations, such as Halloween and birthdays.

Stephanie [REDACTED] lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and works part time for the Hershey Chocolate Company. She lives with both her mother and brother. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephanie requested to work from home due to underlying health reasons. Stephanie is not working from home but is struggling with the set up. Stephanie is also craving a sense of community during these stressful times, especially since Pennsylvania isn’t friendly to those not from the area. Stephanie and her family have taken the proper precautions to stay safe and are only leaving the house when absolutely necessary.

This is an interview of Phillip Hoile about the impacts that COVID-19 pandemic has on his job. He also speaks about questioning the information and why there's so much conflicting information in the media about COVID-19. Phillip offers his thoughts on why he and his family chose to take preventive measures such as masks and social distancing during COVID-19. He also talks about what it's like to live in a small community like Blanchard, Oklahoma instead of a larger city and the benefits it provides during a pandemic. He also explains the ways COVID-19 has altered his family plans and what he has done to create new activities to spend time with his granddaughter. Phillip offers advice about living through other crises, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, and his optimism that these things will eventually pass too.

This is an interview of Deborah Hoile about her day to day life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Deborah is retired and speaks about spending time taking care of her granddaughter. She offers her thoughts on the effects of the pandemic upon her community of Blanchard and ways that it has responded to COVID-19. Deborah also talks about the ways COVID-19 has affected seeing some of her children and grandchildren, as well as her thoughts about how the community of Blanchard could benefit from its current desire to watch over its more vulnerable population.

Stephanie Kelley, a seventh-grade science teacher from Carlsbad, California, discusses her school district’s decision to terminate in-person instruction, the implementation of distance learning strategies, and the future of K-12 education in the United States. As a nationwide debate over the effectiveness of distance learning ensues, Stephanie believes that technological platforms can be a powerful tool when utilized correctly. Stephanie shares how community building in the classroom at the beginning of the year helped establish higher levels of student trust and participation during virtual instruction. Beyond the classroom, Stephanie discusses her hobbies during the COVID-19 pandemic, including television, reading, and accompanying her husband to local dog parks. Looking ahead, Stephanie believes that schools in her region are not ready to fully reopen, citing a persistently high number of positive cases. Stephanie shares that public health officials should be listened to when deciding whether schools should close due to a pandemic. She also expresses extreme disappointment at the level of political interference in children’s education.

This is an interview with two sisters, Adelaide, 13, and Eloise, 10. They discuss their lives since COVID-19 hit as well as humor and its role in facing hard times.

Alexis Walker grew up in Southern California but is currently living in Fayetteville, NC while her husband is stationed at Fort Bragg. Alexis is currently a full-time mom and a full-time graduate student in Arizona State University’s online History M.A. program. Alexis’s day-to-day life is mostly centered around her family and the social life of the family is heavily centered around the military community of Fort Bragg. In this interview Alexis reflects on her experiences as a mother during the COVID-19 pandemic and how that has affected the way she cares for her children. Alexis also provides a unique insight to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of military members, their families, and the military community as a whole. With the stop movement order issued by the military, the lives of Alexis and her family have essentially been put on hold until the military decides to relax this movement and travel restriction. Finally, Alexis reflects on the varying responses to the pandemic within a community made up of great diversity due to the varying cultural backgrounds of military families.

This is an interview Charlene Goins discusses her experience during this time. Many military families have noticed a difference in the personal experiences and what the "official" military stance is. Charlene also discusses the financial hardships military families are placed in during PCS season, where service members are required to move to a new duty station.

Lawson Miller of Tooele, Utah conducts an interview with Katrina Beattie of Lancaster, California. In this interview, Katrina explains how the pandemic has affected her job as a teacher, her role as a mother, and the impact of Covid-19 on her family and community. Katrina expresses her hopes for the future and offers insight about the local, state, and federal government response to the pandemic.

Emma Garcia [pseudonym] is a native of California and is attending a graduate program at Arizona State University online, seeking a master’s degree in history. As part of her studies she is working on the Journal of the Plague Year digital archive. The very archive this oral history interview was conducted for and included within. Living with her boyfriend, five months into the pandemic, she explains how life with coronavirus changed her daily routines, relationships with family and friends, where she gets her news, and what she worries and fears the most.

Lawson Miller grew up in Utah. He has studied Political Science and North American History at Arizona State University. He currently works as a classroom instructor at Excelsior Academy. Lawson has a partner and they enjoy extracurricular activities such as reading, school work together, and watching TV shows and other documentaries. Lawson shares that he is a part of implementing a unified LGBTQ+ community for Arizona State University students. Lawson touches on the impacts of Covid-19 specifically the LGBTQ+ community and other minority communities. He also highlights the political and social implications of the coronavirus on all social sects as of prime importance. Lawson’s reflection on past significant global events includes the many school and civil shootings that have devasted United States populations, the George Floyd protests, and the many fights for civil and social rights. In this interview, Lawson reflects on COVID-19 from a perspective of civil and social rights while emphasizing the utmost regard for health and safety priorities for all.

This is an interview of Kiersten Camby about her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kiersten is a fulltime wedding planner. She lives with her fiancé and two German Shepherds in Spartanburg, South Carolina. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kiersten was temporarily furloughed from her job and spent most of her time in self-isolation. Her fiancé is an officer and continued to work. Kiersten was able to return to work 3 months after being furloughed and was able to slowly return to full-time status. During her time in self-isolation, Kiersten continued to be able to see her family to enjoy dinners and at-home movie nights. Kiersten and her family have taken the precautions to remain healthy and she hopes that life will one day return to normal.

This is an oral history interview I conducted with a law enforcement officer and fellow ASU intern. He is in the History Master's program at ASU with me and it gives the perspective of not only a law officer but also one who lives in a very rural area in the United States during the pandemic.

Alex Hinely was born and raised in Northern California. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology. Following graduation, Alex lived in various parts of the United States, including Florida and Rhode Island, before returning to his hometown of Colusa in Northern California. He now works as an information manager for a Princeton Joint Unified School District. In the fall of 2019, he began his studies at Arizona State University (ASU), where he is currently working on a Master of Arts in history. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he split his hours working from home and campus and began an internship with “A Journal of the Plague Year” COVID-19 archive initiated by ASU. Alex shares a unique perspective as a school district employee, a student, and a curatorial intern. In this interview, he tackles the challenges of living in rural Northern California, where many seem to be disagreeing with California Governor Gavin Newsom, the challenges of social isolation, and how he believes the COVID-19 pandemic is progressing.

Clinton Roberts grew up in the small town of Blanchard, Oklahoma. He has lived there the balance of his life and continues to work the family-owned Insurance business his grandmother started. In addition to working as an insurance agent, Clinton is also a graduate student of History at Arizona State University. In the interview, Clinton discusses what it means to live and run a business in Blanchard during the COVID-19 crisis. He discusses the challenges he has faced and the changes he has personally made. He further discusses the changes he has witnessed in his local community, within his family, and his relationship with his long-time girlfriend, Kelly McDaniel. He also reveals the toll these changes have taken on his mental health, relationships and livelihood; the fear of “not knowing” his diagnosis after falling ill in recent weeks, and the stresses of taking care of his grandmother during this illness.

This is an interview with Chris Twing describing her life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chris lives with her husband and her teenage son, and her mother lives in an attached home. In this interview Chris discusses her unhappiness with government response to COVID-19, her hopes and worries, and describes her community’s response to the pandemic.

This is an interview of J. Michael Bailey about his life during the COVID-19 pandemic. J. Michael is a high school teacher and speaks about the difficulties of distance learning. He offers his thoughts on the effects of the performing arts community, for which he is a longtime member of. J. Michael also candidly talks about be isolated with his wife and children, as well as the mental and physical stresses of unknown illnesses during this time period.

This is an oral history interview by AG, a 39 year old mother of three young children living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She discusses the stresses and worries about the Coronavirus time.